Machine for sanding edge surfaces of lumber



4 Sheets-Sheet 1 i INVENTOR ATTORNEYS June 11, 1963 J. E. MARSH MACHINE FOR SANDING EDGE SURFACES OF LUMBER Filed Sept. 28, 1960 3 ON mm r m w a w mm wmmw w, v 5 mm om I? 0 2% 6 w: om u N 3. 3 2. 3 E.

J.EVERETT MARSH June 11, 1963 J. E. MARSH MACHINE FOR SANDING EDGE SURFACES OF LUMBER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 28, 1960 INVENTOR J. EVER ETT MARSH mm mm mm 3 -95 m 8 mm B 2 .1 i ow 2. 2. 2. mm E. 1 ON mm E mm ll, {I n 0 mm A mm mm mm r 5 g Ll I 5 R w E. Al 8 mm on June 11, 1963 J. E. MARSH 3,092,935

MACHINE FOR SANDING EDGE SURFACES OF LUMBER Filed Sept. 28, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 IOI FIG. 3. J

: I 4 c w 45 INVENTOR J. EVERETT MARSH ATTORNEYS June 11, 1963 J. E. MARSH 3,092,936

MACHINE FOR SANDING EDGE SURFACES OF LUMBER Filed Sept. 28, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG.7I E

FIG. I3. FIG. I2. FIG. IO.

FIG. I I.

IOI

FIG. i4. FIG; l5.

INVENTOR J. EVERETT MARSH BY a M ATTORNEY!)- ire tare This invention relates to a machine for sanding edge surfaces of lumber, and particularly wooden boards used in furniture manufacture.

It is an object of this invention to provide a. sending machine including a belt on which the material to be sanded is placed, and a sand belt movable at an angle to the feed belt, to eifect sanding engagement with the material across the entire width of the sand belt.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sending machine of the character described including a contour mold or sanding head which the back face of the sand belt engages and follows, the mold being of elongated non-lineal shape for continuous point contact along the edge surface being sanded from one side of the face to the other, and geometrically designed to urge the sand belt to run flush with the mold and to fade away from contact with the material being sanded everywhere but at the point of sanding.

A further object is to provide a sanding machine including an elongated flat sanding head which may be interchangeably employed with a plurality of heads of varying non-lineal shape.

Other objects are to provide a contour mold of spiral shape to eifect a predetermined contoured edge surface; to provide a sanding machine in which the material is sanded at an angle to the grain thereof, rather than with the grain; and to provide a sanding machine including a feed assembly having roller pressure members for maintaining a constant force on the material being sanded against the sand belt, the feed assembly further comprising articulate means compensating for variations in material thickness which additionally insure the application of equal pressure to all parts of the material engaged by the roller pressure members.

Still other objects of the invention will be manifest from the following description of the present preferred from of the invention, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a sanding machine constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the same;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the sand belt and feed belt forming a part of the present invention, portions thereof being broken away to disclose details of construction;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 6 is a schematic view illustrating the contour of the sanding head forming a part of the present invention;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view of a piece of wood, one side of which has been sanded by the sanding machine of the present invention, the arrows indicating the points of sanding engagement of the present machine with the wood;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a sanding head and sand belt forming a part of the present invention, and showing to advantage, by means of arrows, the path of the work to be sanded longitudinally and transversely of the belt;

Patented June 11, 19%3 FIGURE 9 is a section view taken along the line 99 of FIGURE 8, looking in the direction of the arrows, showing to advantage the initial point of contact of the material with the sand belt and sanding head;

FIGURE 10 is a similar view taken along the line 1010 of FIGURE 8, looking in the direction of the arrows, showing the progressive sanding of the edge of the material;

FIGURE 11 is similar to FIGURE 10 and is taken along the line Ill-11 of FIGURE 8, looking in the direction of the arrows and illustrates a further sanding progression;

FIGURE 12 is a view similar to FIGURE 11 taken along the line 1212 of FIGURE 8, looking in the direction of the arrows, illustrating still further progressive sanding of the material edge;

FIGURE 13 is a view similar to FIGURE 12, taken along the line l3-13 of FIGURE 8, looking in the direction of the arrows, illustrating the final step in sanding the edge of the work;

FIGURE 14 is an enlarged side elevational view of the pressure assembly of the present invention;

FIGURE 15 is an end elevational view of the same; and

FIGURE 16 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the compensating unit forming a part of the pressure as sembly.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGURES l and 2 thereof, the sanding machine of the present invention includes a frame 23. A motor 24 is fixed to frame 26 adjacent its upper I end, on the drive shaft of which is rotatably mounted a drive pulley 25. A sand belt 26 is adapted to engage and be actuated by drive pulley 25', said sand belt extending downwardly at an angle in substantially spaced parallel relationship to frame 20. The lower limit of sand belt 26 engages a remote control idler 27 supported adjacent the lower end of frame 20. Remote control idler 27 may be of conventional construction, such as the illustrated Model No. X71 manufactured by Behr- Manning Company of Troy, New York, which includes a plate support 28 fixed to the lower terminal of frame 20, on which support is mounted a plate 29. An ad justment arm 30 extends upwardly at an angle from plate 29 and a pulley support 31 extends at an angle between plate 29 and adjustment arm 30 and is adjustable with respect to the latter. An idler pulley is indicated at 32 and is adjustable by means of adjustment knobs 33 and helical springs 34. Adjacent remote control idler 27 is a sand belt guide roller 35 rotatably mounted on a roller yoke 36, the roller yoke being attached to frame 2%} by suitable means 37.

Intermediate drive pulley 25 and remote control idler 27, the back face of sand belt 26 is trained to engage and assume the contour of a stationary sanding head 38, which sanding head is detachably connected to frame 20 by suitable means 39. Sand belt 26 is maintained in flush engagement with sanding head 38 by placement of the latter outside of the normal path of travel of the sand belt between drive pulley 25 and remote control idler 27 (gsee FIGURE 2), The sand belt-engaging face of sanding head 38 may assume a variety of shapes to effect edge-sanding of wood or other suitable material to any desired contour. This shape may be any combination of concave, convex and/or straight surfaces plotted on the sanding head. It is therefore desirable to provide a variety of sanding heads in order to effect predetermined edge contours on wood or other suitable material.

One such sanding head is illustrated and, as shown to advantage in FIGURES 6, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, the sanding head for effecting the sanding contour illustrated in FIGURE 7 includes a spiral form preferably about twenty inches in length, the spiral form being a geometric design accurately calculated to cause the sand belt to run tightly against the form in its spiral shape, and then to fade away from contact with the stock being sanded everywhere except where the point contact is desired. It will be noted that with this arrangement there is continuous point contact between the surface being sanded and the sand belt. It is further noted from a consideration of FIGURE 8, that this point contact is effected by virtue of the angular relationship between the sand belt and the direction of feed of the stock. Thus, the stock will follow the path shown by the arrows in FIGURE 8, moving transversely of belt 26 as well as longitudinally thereof, to effect point contact with the spiral form at predetermined points of the latter.

In FIGURE 6, a sanding head of spiral form is schematically shown, this form being adapted to effect the edge contour illustrated in FIGURE 7. It will be apparent from a consideration of this schematic showing that as the stock to be sanded moves diagonally across the sanding head, from the lower right hand corner to the upper lefthand corner, point contact of the contoured sand belt with the edge surface of the stock from one side to the other is gradually effected.

For feeding stock into engagement with said belt 26,

there is provided a feed table assembly 49 which is adjacent and fixed to frame 26. This assembly comprises a rectangular support'41 which may be welded to frame and additionally fixed thereto by braces 42. Like pairs of feed table adjustment bars 43 are pivotally connected in spaced relation at one end to support 41 as indicated at 44. Adjustment bars 43 extend upwardly into pivotal engagement with belt guide supports 45. A feed belt guide trough 46 having lateral guide rails 46' is ad justably mounted on bolts 45 of guide supports 45, within which trough an endless feed belt 47 runs. Bolts 45 may be operated to adjust the disposition of trough 46 and feed belt 47 Adjustable pulleys 48 and 49 are positioned at a point adjacent the longitudinal terminals of said belt guide trough, the pulleys being rotatably mounted between brackets 50 and 51 which are suitably secured to the underface of the belt guide trough.

Belt guide trough 46 is Vertically adjustable by means of an elongated adjustment screw 52, one terminal of which is threaded at 53. Screw 52 extends through a pair of spaced transverse bars 54, the screw being fixed to enlarged perforate section 54 of bars 54. The lateral terminals of each transverse bar are pivoted to each pair of feed table adjustment bars 43 at points intermediate their lengths, as shown at 55. At the threaded end of adjustment screw 52 there are provided a pair of spaced adjustment wheel supports 56 between which is a feed table adjustment wheel 57 threadedly engaged with portion 53. Upon actuation of adjustment wheel 57 adjustment screw 52 is moved longitudinally, thereby effecting synchronous movement of adjustment bars 43 in an arc, with resultant'vertical movement of feed belt guide trough 46. Actuation of feed belt 47 is effected by means of a sprocket chain 58 in operative engagement with a sprocket 59 connected to pulley 49. Sprocket chain 58 extends downwardly into engagement with asprocket 60 driven by a suitable motor 61 supported by suitable members 62 and 63. An idler pulley 64 is supported intermediate the run of chain 58 by an arm 65, a terminal of which, remote from idler pulley 64, is pivoted at 66 to the housing of motor 61. A coil spring 67 is connected at one terminal to arm 65 adjacent pulley 64 and at the other end to support member 62 to take up the slack in chain 58 and maintain the latter taut at all times in the various positions of adjustment of assembly 40.

Referring to FIGURE 2, it will be seen that there is provided, at a point adjacent one end of frame 20, an infeed guide plate 68 secured to and extending transversely of the latter, said guide plate being provided with spaced adjusting gibs 69 adapted to receive an infeed guide plate adjusting bar 70. Adjusting bar 70 is slotted longitudinally at 71, which slot is aligned with a complemental slot in guide plate 68. A bolt and nut unit 72 passing through slit 71 and the complemental slot in guide plate 68, lock the two together in predetermined relationship. The terminal of adjusting bar 70 adjacent feed table assembly is secured to a flat infeed guide 73 which is positioned proximate belt 47 at one extremity thereof, to insure proper alignment of the stock to be sanded with sanding head 38 and sand belt 26. A second guide plate 74 is detachably connected by a bolt 75 to feed belt guide trough 46 proximate the other extremity of belt 47 to direct the stock subsequent to the sanding operation.

In connection with feeding of stock on feed belt 47, there is provided a roller pressure assembly or hold-down head 76 positioned superjacent frame 20 and feed table assembly 40. Roller pressure assembly 76 includes a pair of spaced vertical head beams 77, the lower terminals of which are secured to frame 2 Vertical beam clamps 78 are slidably engaged with vertical head beams 77. Clamps 78 are maintained in predetermined position along beams 77 by a retaining bar 79, the lateral terminals of which issue into yokes 80 which embrace beams 77 with the lower terminals of clamps 73 resting thereon. Retaining bar 79 is provided with a centrally located internally threaded sleeve 81 which is engaged by a threaded shaft 82, the lower terminal of which is suitably journaled to frame 26. Vertical movement of retaining bar 79, with consequent movement of clamps 73 is effected by rotation of shaft S2 by means of an adjustment wheel 83 on the upper terminal of threaded shaft 82. Horizontal beam clamps 84 are secured to vertical beam clamps 78 in any suitable manner, in which horizontal beam clamps are mounted horizontal head beams 85.

Y 87. Sleeved on head feed bar 87 adjacent clamps 86 are links is effected by bolt 96'.

roller unit clamps 8%.

As shown in FIGURES 5, 14 and 16, a bifurcated support member 89 pends from one of said clamps 88, the lower terminals of which bifurcated member are perforated to receive a shaft 96. A connecting member 91, joined at its lower terminal to the roller unit, is provided with a milled out recess 92, in one side thereof, which issues into a semi-circular surface 93 adapted for engagement with shaft 99 between portions of bifurcated member 89. Adjacent semi-circular portion 93 at the innermost point of recess 92 there is provided a vertical shaftengaging face 94 for purposes which will be more fully hereinafter set out. The other of the roller unit clamps 83 is also provided with a depending bearing 95 through which a bolt 96 passes. (See FIGURES :14 and 15.) A link 97 having perforate ears )8 is pivotally supported by bolt 96 at its upper terminal. The central portion of link 97 is extended to provide a perforate extension 99 adapted for mating engagement with a second link 97', similar to link 97, like portions thereof being indicated by like primed numbers. Pivotal connection of the two Extension 99 of link 97 is pivotally connected to a bolt 96' extending between a pair of upstanding lugs 10% which are welded or secured in any other suitable manner to the roller unit.

The roller unit includes an elongated inverted U- shaped channel housing 1&1, to the transverse portion of which upstanding lugs 19% and connecting member 91 are welded or otherwise suitably secured. As shown to advantage in FIGURES 1 and 5, idle rollers 102 and 108 are rotatably mounted on axles 104 extending through the depending vertical portions of inverted U-shaped housing 101 near its lower terminal, so that rollers 102 are located outside of housing 101 and rollers 103 are located inside of housing .101. Rollers 102 and 103 are preferably of the rubber-tire type and are adapted to exert pressure on stock 105 being fed on belt 47, past sanding head 38 and sand belt 26 in order to prevent accidental displacement of the stock relative to the sand belt and sanding head.

An adjustment bar 106 extends from horizontal head feed bar 87 to elongated inverted U-shaped housing 101. The terminals of bar 106 are threaded as indicated at 107 and 108 respectively. A pair of nuts 109 are engaged with threaded section 107, one nut being positioned on the inside of horizontal feed bar 87 and the other nut being positioned on the outside thereof. A double nut 110 is engaged with threaded section 108 underneath the transverse section of U-shaped channel housing 101.

In use, with the sanding machine of the present invention, feed table assembly 40 is first positioned by operation of feed table adjustment wheel 57 in order to locate feed belt guide trough 46 and feed belt 47 at a predetermined point, depending upon the particular material to be sanded. Adjustment wheel 83 of roller pressure assembly or hold-down head 76 is next operated to lower rollers 102 and 103 into predetermined spaced relation to feed belt 47. Optimum results are obtained when rollers 102 and 103 exert sufiicient pressure on stock 105 against compressible belt 47 to cause the stock being sanded to make light contact with the upper terminals of rails 46'. This insures movement of the stock in the exact horizontal plane desired for proper contact with sanding head 38. Motor 24 is then actuated to operate sand belt 26 in the direction indicated by the arrows in FIGURES l and 2 and feed belt 47 is preferably, but not necessarily actuated in the direction opposite to sand belt 26 by motor 61. The stock to be sanded, 105, is fed onto belt 47 in any suitable manner and is properly positioned with respect thereto by infeed guide 73. As stock 105 continues along belt 47, it engages the rollers 102 and 103 mounted on inverted U-shaped housing 101. As stock moves beneath initial rollers 102 and 103, these rollers together with housing 101, and its supporting structure, are raised and the weight of these parts rests on the stock. The opposite end of the housing and its connected parts remains suspended from clamp 88 connected to head feed bar 87. In this position, the distance between the two points of suspension is increased, due to the fact that the series of rollers 102 and 103 are no longer parallel to the head feed bar 87 from which they are suspended. The pivot points must therefore be permitted to draw closer together to compensate for that shortening of distance. This is elfected by hinge action of the articulate means comprising parts 95 to 100. With the opposite end of the roller pressure assembly remaining in a fixed vertical position, the pivot point of suspension created by the hinge action can move forward to compensate for the shortening of the distance. As the stock is fed beneath the rollers, the aft end of the assembly is elevated by a vertical movement of shaft 90 along vertical face 94 of connecting member 91. Binding is prevented by a compensating vertical movement of shaft 90 into engagement with vertical face 94 of connecting member 91. This arrangement permits vertical movement of inverted U-shaped channel housing 101 under variations in stock thickness, without any horizontal movement or binding of the parts thereof. Consequently there is no longitudinal movement of the housing relative to feed belt 47. Lateral movement of housing 101 toward or away from sand belt 26 is prevented by virtue of the Wide bearing surfaces of the articulate means comprising parts 89 to 91 and 95 to 100. These parts fit snugly and have wide surfaces so that when the roller pressure assembly is raised and the weight thereof rests on the stock, the assembly will remain in predetermined position. Pressure is equally applied to all portions of stock under rollers 102 and 103 at all times, thereby obviating any casual displacement of stock 105 on feed belt 47.

The stock moves on feed belt 47 to bring the edge of the stock into engagement with sanding belt 26 and, as the stock advances on the feed belt, point contact of the former at various points along the spiral form of the sanding head and sand belt is effected. By virtue of the angular relationship between feed belt 47 and sand belt 26, stock 105 moves transversely across the entire Width of the belt. The progressive sanding steps are illustrated to advantage in FIGURES 8 through 13. In FIGURE 7 there is shown the finished sanded edge of stock 105 after the sanding steps illustrated in FIGURES 9 through 13. Arrows A, B, C, D, and E designate the points of contact of the sand belt with the stock in the sanding steps illustrated at FIGURES 9, 10, ll, 12 and 13 respectively.

By virtue of the sleeved engagement of clamps 88 with head feed bar 87, channel housing 101 may be swung out of operative position, if desired.

With the sanding machine of the present invention, means are provided for sanding stock edges with a sand belt trained to assume a slowly changing contour, which belt is adapted to engage different parts of the stock being sanded in progressive stages. It has been found that best results are obtained by use of a six inch belt, driven at a 20 angle to the feed belt. Sanding is thereby effected across the entire width of the sand belt thereby prolonging the life thereof indefinitely. This angular relationship further sands the stock at an angle to the grain thereof, rather than with the grain. A wider belt positioned at a greater angle to the feed belt can be used for producing different contours.

While I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is nevertheless to be understood that various changes may be made therein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims hereto appended.

What I claim is:

l. A machine for sanding board lumber including a frame, a lumber feed assembly in the frame for moving a board, in a lineal path in the frame, and a sanding assembly in the frame comprising a movable sand belt, the belt being disposed at an angle for contact of the belt with a margin of one edge of the board, the sanding surface of the angularly disposed belt being sinuous, for constantly changing the locus of contact of the belt with the board edge, to effect gradual sanding of said edge from one side of the board to the other.

2. A sanding machine including a frame, a sand belt movably mounted on said frame, a feed belt for the material to be sanded proximate said sand belt, means for firmly retaining the material on the feed belt and positively preventing movement of the material relative thereto, a contour mold mounted on said frame proximate the rear face of said sand belt, the sand belt being forced against the mold to assume the contour of the latter by placement of the mold outside of the normal path of travel of the sand belt, the contour mold thereby efi'ecting point contact of the sand belt with the edge of the material from one side to the other, for gradually sanding the latter, power means for operating said feed belt and sand belt, said feed belt and sand belt being operable in different planes at the point of contact with the material being sanded, to effect sanding of the latter across the entire width of the sand belt.

3. A sanding machine, as set out in claim 2, wherein the contour mold is of elongated spiral shape.

4. In a sanding machine, a feed table assembly including a frame, an endless feed belt movably mounted on said frame, on which material is placed, and a roller pressure assembly positioned superjacent said endless feed belt and engageable with the material for preventing casual displacement thereof with respect to the feed belt, said roller pressure assembly including a stationary support, a roller housing suspended from said stationary support, roller members rotatably mounted on said roller housing near its lower terminal and engageable with the material on the belt to exert pressure thereon under the weight of said assembly, and articulate means including links pivotally connected to each other and to said stationary support and roller housing to. permit floating movement of the latter to compensate for variations in material thickness, and to insure the application of equal pressure to all parts of the material by the roller members.

5. A feed table assembly, as set out in claim 4, wherein said articulate means additionally includes connecting members fixed to said stationary support and roller housing in spaced relation to said links, and means joining said connecting members to permit relative vertical movement between the latter.

6. A feed table assembly as set out in claim 5, wherein a shaft is horizontally supported by one of said connecting members, said other connecting member having a recess adapted to receive said shaft, the recess being elongated to provide a vertical wall which said shaft engages in response to pivotal movement of said links to restrict movement of said roller housing to a vertical plane.

7. A machine for sanding board lumber including a frame, a sand belt movably mounted on said frame, a lumber feed assembly on said frame proximate said sand belt, said feed assembly comprising an endless belt on which the board lumber is placed and fed into engagement with said sand belt, said endless belt being disposed at an angle to said sand belt and movable in a direction opposite to that of the sand belt, an elongated contour mold mounted on said frame proximate the rear face of said sand belt, said sand belt being forced against the mold to assume the contour of the latter by placement of the mold outside of the normal path of travel of the sand belt, and a roller pressure assembly positioned superjacent said endless belt and engageable with the board lumber for urging the latter against the sand belt and preventing 0 casual displacement thereof with respect to the endless belt, said roller pressure assembly including a stationary support, a roller housing suspended from said stationary support, roller members rotatably mounted on said roller housing near its lower terminal and engageable with the board lumber on the endless belt to exert pressure thereon, the roller pressure assembly further including articulate means connecting said stationary support and roller housing to permit relative movement of the latter to compensate for variations in board lumber thickness.

8. A machine for sanding board lumber as set out in claim 7, wherein the contour mold is of spiral shape.

9. A machine for sanding board lumber including a frame, a lumber feed assembly in the frame for moving a board in a lineal path, and a sanding. assembly in the frame comprising a movable sand belt, said sanding assembly further including an elongated contour mold engageable with the rear face of the sand belt, the belt-engaging face of the mold being of spiral shape for effecting point contact of the sanding belt with the board edge from one side of the board to the other, for gradually sanding the latter.

10. The machine of claim 9 with the addition of means engageable with the board for preventing casual displacement thereof With respect to the feed belt.

11. The machine of claim 10 with the addition of means for compensating for variations in material thickness and insuring the application of equal pressure to all parts of the material engaged by said first means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 645,717 'Fletcher Mar. 20, 1900 2,261,614 Buckley Nov. 4, 1941 2,456,217 Rothrock Dec. 14,1948 2,762,173 Bottcher Sept. 11, 1956 2,904,937 Feurich Sept. 22, 1959 2,907,151 Peterson Oct. 6, 1959 2,922,264 Mushrush J an. 26, 1960 2,977,725 Simendinger Apr. 4, 1961 3,049,839 Smith Aug. 21, 1962 

1. A MACHINE FOR SANDING BOARD LUMBER INCLUDING A FRAME, A LUMBER FEED ASSEMBLY IN THE FRAME FOR MOVING A BOARD, IN A LINEAL PATH IN THE FRAME, AND A SANDING ASSEMBLY IN THE FRAME COMPRISING A MOVABLE SAND BELT, THE BELT BEING DISPOSED AT AN ANGLE FOR CONTACT OF THE BELT WITH A MARGIN OF ONE EDGE OF THE BOARD, THE SANDING SURFACE OF THE ANGULARLY DISPOSED BELT BEING SINUOUS, FOR CONSTANTLY CHANGING THE LOCUS OF CONTACT OF THE BELT WITH THE BOARD EDGE, TO EFFECT GRADUAL SANDING OF SAID EDGE FROM ONE SIDE OF THE BOARD TO THE OTHER. 